December 22, 2010 The Committee to Stop FBI Repression is circulating the following statement from Palestine solidarity activist Maureen Murphy. Maureen is the managing editor of the popular online publication, Electronic Intifada, and she is also the co-chair of the Chicago Committee Against Political Repression, which has been leading work in Chicago to oppose […]
Geography Archives: Middle East
Palestine and Iraq in the Eyes of Kalvellido and Azagra
“Palestine and Iraq in the Eyes of Kalvellido and Azagra.” That’s the title of a series of panel cartoons by Spanish artists Juan Kalvellido and Carlos Azagra, who have criticized, in their own way, that is to say by cartoons, the wars in Iraq and Palestine in recent years. This exhibition, organized by the […]
WMG, Motorola, and YouTube: Censoring Palestinian Solidarity Flash Mob Video
December 22, 2010 Dancing and singing to a parody of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s “Telephone,” more than forty members and friends of the St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee (STL-PSC) serenaded holiday shoppers at Best Buy and AT&T stores in Brentwood, MO. They urged patrons to join the boycott of Motorola products because of the […]
The President and the Climate: Reflections on Progressive Obama Delusion and a Curious Line in Bill McKibben’s Eaarth
Just what did Barack Obama and his spinners do to the critical faculties of so many leading American progressives? Some of my regular readers might be surprised to know that I often bring a significant measure of disinclination to my recurrent radical criticism of President Barack Obama and his “progressive” defenders. The reluctance stems […]
Occupation of the Territories: Israeli Soldier Testimonies 2000-2010
Excerpt: From the descriptions given by the soldiers, one comes to grasp the logic of Israeli operations overall. The testimonies leave no room for doubt: while it is true that the Israeli security apparatus has had to deal with concrete threats in the past decade, including terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens, Israeli operations are not […]
Chile Joins Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia in Recognizing Palestinian State
Chilean government spokeswoman Ena Von Baer declared on Tuesday that her country “supports the establishment of a Palestinian state.” With this declaration Chile joins Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia, which in past weeks have recognized Palestine as a free and independent state. Von Baer explained that Chile’s support is offered in the context of the […]
Pseudo-Privatization in the Islamic Republic: Beyond the Headlines on Iran’s Economic Transformation
When discussing the current state of Iran’s economy, commentators, activists, politicians, and the U.S. government all seem to agree on the massive role played by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Stanford University Professor Abbas Milani told an audience at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, D.C. in June 2010 that this “military junta” controls “minimally […]
Iran: Goodbye to Energy Subsidies, Hello to Price Controls?
Tehran, December 19, 2010. On what he called “the historic economic night,” President Ahmadinejad appeared on Iranian television to announce the imminent launch of the subsidy reform law, starting with energy prices at midnight (see below for new prices). He produced an impressive array of facts and figures from memory, hoping to calm fears about […]
Notes on Contemporary Imperialism
Phases of Imperialism Lenin dated the imperialist phase of capitalism, which he associated with monopoly capitalism, from the beginning of the twentieth century, when the process of centralization of capital had led to the emergence of monopoly in industry and among banks. The coming together (coalescence) of the capitals in these two spheres led to […]
After One Dimensional Feminism(s)
Nina Power’s One Dimensional Woman is a slim but muscular volume, whose pithy prose goes straight to the heart of the challenges currently facing contemporary feminism. Constructed as a series of short, cut-to-the-chase essays on a diverse range of ‘raw-nerve’ topics, from Sarah Palin and the War on Iraq to the veil and pornography, […]
Scream to Let Your Voice Be Heard
داد بزن صدات برسه ساکت نباش چون سکوت کنی نوبت تو هم میرسه Salome is an Iranian rap artist. This song is about Israel’s war on Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009. See, also, Salome, “Grown Green on This Land” (MRZine, 11 February 2010). | Print
WikiLeaks Cables Show Why Washington Won’t Allow Democracy in Haiti
The polarization of the debate around WikiLeaks is pretty simple, really. Of all the governments in the world, the United States government is the greatest threat to world peace and security today. This is obvious to anyone who looks at the facts with a modicum of objectivity. The Iraq war has claimed hundreds of thousands, […]
What Are Common Misconceptions of Muslim Women?
Shahla Haeri: There are many misconceptions, but unfortunately the media are so very powerful. The image that they have created has become so powerful that it becomes very difficult for people to get any other image, any other perceptions, of women in their mind. There is this tendency to categorize, to generalize and lump […]
Ashura in Istanbul
Yesterday was the 10th day of the Muslim holy month of Muharram — commemorated by Shi’a Muslims for centuries as the holy day of Ashura. (We send our best wishes to all of our readers who are observing this special time.) One of our readers highlighted something truly striking that happened yesterday, in connection with […]
Flash Mob to AIPAC: “We Don’t Need Your Occupation! Leave Iran Alone!”
On Monday, 13 December 2010, a flash mob hit a fundraiser for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Oakland, California, singing (to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”): We don’t need no bombs and sanctions . . . Hey, AIPAC, leave Iran alone! . . . All in all […]
Secret Anti-Palestinian House Resolution to Be Voted on Today
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation revealed today the text of a secret anti-Palestinian resolution to be voted on by the House of Representatives later in the day. The full text of the draft resolution, not yet made public officially, is reprinted below.* The resolution, introduced by Rep. Howard Berman, Chair of the […]
Order Reigns on the Internet
Scarcely a day after the WikiLeaks disclosures of U.S. State Department cables the U.S. political establishment went ballistic. Some called for the assassination of WikiLeaks’ spokesperson, Julian Assange, whereas others wanted to amend the 1917 Espionage Act to target the website. Targeted “denial of service” attacks shut down the web site, and then the political […]
Israel’s War on Children of Jerusalem
Israeli police have been criticized over their treatment of hundreds of Palestinian children, some as young as seven, arrested and interrogated on suspicion of stone throwing in East Jerusalem. In the past year, criminal investigations have been opened against more than 1,200 Palestinian minors in Jerusalem on stone-throwing charges, according to police statistics gathered by […]
Saturday Mothers of Turkey
“The silent vigils started with the disappearance of Hasan Ocak, who was detained by police in Istanbul on March 21, 1995. 55 days later, his tortured body was uncovered in a graveyard for unidentified people. Ocak’s family and friends led the first sit-down protest. . . .” Bijoyeta Das is an independent multimedia journalist […]
Lift Sanctions against Iran: Interview with Hooman Majd
Hooman Majd: Most average Americans, if they only follow the news on Iran the way it is presented, wouldn’t even know that there is a parliament, wouldn’t even know that there are three branches of government in Iran, like America: there’s the executive; there’s the legislative, which is the parliament; and there’s the judiciary. […]
